Sunday at St. Peter’s

….guess I should have read the schedule more closely.

Since we’re a five minute walk away, and since it’s Sunday, we thought we’d go to Mass at St. Peter’s Sunday morning, and then stay for the Angelus.  The regular schedule indicates a 10:30 Mass.  So we got there about 10:15, in order to get through the security line, which was quite long….on the screens outside, the Pope was…talking…inside St. Peter’s.  I was thinking that perhaps it was a replay of yesterday’s Consistory, but then we hit the door, and the sounds inside matched the sounds outside (the Credo by that point)…so, um, there we were inside St. Peter’s, halfway through Mass being celebrated by the Pope.

There were no seats of course, so we tried to find various vantage points from which we could see something besides the ceiling – no such luck.  No one was moving from their hard-won SRO positions against the barriers, not even for angelic-looking children.  We wandered to the back, eventually, and stayed there since it occurred to me that from there, we could see the Holy Father as he processed out – well, we could, sort of, although he turned away to go through the curtains before he got to us – the boys saw his face, though.  Following are some photos – next post will be a couple of videos from the Angelus.

Waiting to get into the Basilica

Took this holding the camera over my head I never actually saw the altar with my own eyes.

Waiting at the end of Mass

And…there he goes.

Cardinal Rigali

Many men and women were wearing these, in honor of the new Cardinal from Nigeria

At the end of every church event, someone has to stack the chairs.

 

Texts:

Pope Benedict’s talk at the Consistory

His homily for Sunday’s Mass.

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Peace and Good

Today, we took the bus down the hill from Assisi to S. Maria degli Angeli, the location of the Porziuncola of St. Francis.

Afterwards we were at McDonald’s – so sue me, it’s the first time in about 2 weeks and it’s right there by the train station/bus stop  - dining in the midst of a couple dozen Italian high school students and a few young families.

Time to evangelize!

This group of mostly sisters, with a few young laypeople, had been handing out flyers in front of the Basilica – I said “no Italiano,” as I do many times a day, but just my quick glance indicated that it was advertising for a youth/family event of some sort.

And what better place to spread the word than a McDonald’s full of young people at lunch?

They hit every table, spent time with those that responded, regrouped at the end, then walked off together back to the Basilica.

It was impressive.

Reaching out, inviting, dialoguing, going into the place where young people gather in person, not just virtually, not just waiting for them to come to you.

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Reminders…

“Christian Correctness (or perhaps “courtesy?”) in Church”

Posted in S. Maria dei Servi in Padua.

Which is wonderful.  I love these mid-sized European cities.

This church is also home to a crucifix which was recently identified as the work of Donatello.  It is a quite interesting story that begins (in modern times) with a scholar running across a hand-written annotation in an early edition of Vasari’s Lives of the Artists. The story is here.  The crucifix is below.  One of the interesting points the article makes is that the crucifix has had a cultus of a miracle associated with it, and perhaps that is the reason that it has never attracted the interest of art historians:

How could art history have forgotten such a masterpiece? Ruffini posited two theories to explain why the work escaped notice for centuries. First, he believes that the miracle associated with the crucifix made it first and foremost a cult object. “The important point about miracles is that their agency is divine. The fame of the crucifix as a cult object eclipsed the name of the artist who made it,” Ruffini remarked. “Religion and art often help each other, but there’s also a hidden competition between artistic and religious values. When the religious significance determines how we look at an object, the aesthetic ways we look at it are removed from consideration.”

 

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Travel Blogging news

I’ve been writing about our New Mexico trip over at Booked.

Opera House in Cerrillos, New Mexico

and…here’s an interview I did for the “Waiting to Board” feature at the Cheap Flights website!

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7 Quick Takes – New Mexico Edition

The last night of what has been a fascinating vacation. (UPDATE: Actually, as I finish it …the last morning. Flight leaves in a couple of hours. UPDATE: Well, none of that worked. So finishing at home.) Random notes that won’t be fitting in over at Booked.

— 1 —

Will probably end up in a frame.

There always seems to be a dog. One always shows up at our rentals. This one – the small beagle-type animal in the lower center-left – was named Dot and lived across the road. But every time she’d hear someone emerge from “our” house,across she would dart and scamper up the rocks with whoever was climbing. I can’t decide if it’s a sign that we should get one or assurance that it’s not necessary – one will be provided when the yearning seems unendurable.

— 2 —

I like New Mexican cuisine, I’ve discovered – and I came to a (probably superficial) understanding of what distinguishes it. I had green chile stew in a couple of places and will certainly make that one at home. Red Chile Posole and Carne Adovada will also be added to that particular Pinterest board. Brought home some Chimayo chile.

— 3 —

I had thought about driving out to New Mexico from Birmingham.  You know, Fun! Road Trip!

Very glad I didn’t.

— 4 —

Me at Tuco’s lair – actually a coffee shop named “Java Joe’s.”

We had many reasons forgoing out there. I’ll admit to you that this was on the list. Far down, but yeah, it was on it. Gave it a little extra kick.

— 5 —

The trip gave me a lot to think about re: home/road schooling. Still happening, but I see how much organization and (self) discipline this is really going to take.  Duh. Might want to get cracking on that.

— 6 —

On Saturday evening, we attended Mass at Cristo Rey parish – the history is here.  The enormous retablo is made of stone and had been in storage at the Cathedral until the parish was built in the 1940′s.  I snuck this photo in of a post-baptismal procession around the congregation, in which the two babies baptized that evening were taken around the church and signed with a cross by those at the end of the rows, while the entire congregation sang (something in Spanish). It was lovely and a moment bursting with promise and hope.

— 7 —

It was a marvelous week.  New Mexico was a revelation.  I found it historically and culturally fascinating, stimulating and simply gorgeous.  The weather was far better than it was here in Birmingham.  Hotter than normal, everyone told me, but still not uncomfortable at all – even climbing amid stones and desert in the afternoons. The boys enjoyed it too, as they had ample time to scramble over rocks every single day, and saw new things and places.  But I do think that one of their strongest and fun memories will be from the evening of July 4th, spending three hours alternating between swimming pool and basketball court at the Albuquerque Residence Inn, fireworks exploding in the background.

Mine, too, come to think of it.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

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Arkansas Traveller

I’m posting today over at the other blog on our spring break - last night reflections on the cabin in the Oachita Mountains, then today  - exciting adventures in Little Rock and Hot Springs.. (And if you didn’t see it before…seeing Pa’s fiddle made me cry)

Update:   Hot Springs is up…Little Rock to come…

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